Microsoft to spruce up Surface RT

Possible reason behind price cuts

Last week rumours emerged that Microsoft was going to cut the price of its ARM based Surface RT.

The move was seen by some as evidence of Microsoft's failure before the mighty Steve Jobs' marketing machine, although others whispered that Samsung might have had a hand in it.

Over the weekend Microsoft announced the expected price cuts:

• Surface RT 32GB - $349.99

• Surface RT 64GB - $449.99

• Surface RT 32GB with Touch Cover - $449.99

• Surface RT 64GB with Touch Cover - $549.99

The reason might have had nothing to do with any huge sales failure, but more that Microsoft is coming up with better specs and wants to off its inventory.

According to the Verge, Microsoft is planning to refresh its Surface RT with a Qualcomm processor.

This is a poke in the eye with a short stick to Nvidia'sTegra 3 chipset which the current RT uses. Apparently Nvidia continues to be a supplier for "some versions".

The switch to Qualcomm, which appears to be for unannounced Surface RT devices, will likely come into effect later this year.

It seems that Microsoft is testing Windows RT 8.1 Surface devices with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 processor with integrated LTE connectivity. This will mean that the Vole can potentially ship its first Surface device with mobile broadband.

This move was hinted at by Vole's ecosystem and planning chief, Mike Angiulo earlier this year.